A Review of Sexuality and the Chronically Ill Older Adult: A Social Justice Issue

1331 Words3 Pages
bulb-icon

Recommended: research on human sexuality

Introduction

This article “Sexuality and the Chronically Ill Older Adult: A Social Justice Issue” is published in the journal Sexuality and Disability and the authors are Verna C Pangman and Marilyn Seguire. The article provides an overview and outline on sexuality in the older adult with a chronic illness. In today’s world, according to Verna C Pangman and Marilyn Seguire, sexuality for the older adult and the elderly is a “taboo” word, and if mentioned, fear and apprehension by the older adult and society develops. The older adult, believe that when they are ill or have a chronic disease process or even disabled they are not able to have lasting relationships, be engaged in sexual activity, and the result is the older adult experiencing unvalued, unappreciated and not important. The article presents a thorough and detailed view on sexuality and the chronically ill older adult.

Summary

Sex is usually associated with the younger generation therefore individuals believe that the older adult do not engage in sexual activity. They believe that the older adult are “old, weak, feeble and in poor health” thus the older adult cannot have sex. The world today tend to forget to address and understand the magnitude that sexuality has on the older adults security, comfort, interest and health has resulted that the sexuality of the older adult has been left unnoticed and ignored. Verna C Pangman and Marilyn Seguire have cited different definitions from varied references on sexuality. The article points out the fact that health care professionals have ignored the sexual concerns of the older adult and any age group. Nurses and health care professionals are not comfortable addressing sexuality and sexual concerns with their patients. For nu...

... middle of paper ...

... professionals receive the correct training, the nurse will be able to address the sexual concerns, give accurate information and can offer sexual counseling and health teaching on this topic. It is crucial, that in today’s world, that society recognized the older adult’s independence, nurses be more involved in these changes to ensure that sexuality in the chronically ill older adult, and that society becomes more aware of the this topic. Finally, the article addressed all the main concerns of sexuality and the chronically ill older adult, the concern of the nursing profession inability to provide the services needed to these patients regarding sexuality in the chronically ill older adult

Works Cited

Pangman, V. C., & Seguire, M. (2000, March). Sexuality and the chronically ill older adult: A social justice issue. Sexuality & Disability, 18(1), 49-59.

Show More
Related

  • Kowalski And Thompson Ableism

    1137 Words  | 3 Pages

    447). In the 1980s, homosexuality was far from being a normalized thing in society. While Sharon and Karen considered themselves to be married, they technically were not by law. This forced yet another limitation on the couple: Karen was denied the right to visit Sharon as well as any other legal rights a heterosexual couple would have had in this situation (Griscom, p. 448). For the time period, the medical staff were highly unprofessional as they performed heterosexism. It is to be expected that all wishes are treated with respect and rights are not taken away no matter the sexual orientation of the patient and their partner or family member. This is where ableism and heterosexism merge to form a new issue. Karen was denied the right to visit Sharon due to fears of sexual abuse based on the fact that they were in a relationship and Sharon was deemed incompetent at the time (Griscom, p. 448-449). If this were a heterosexual couple, there would be no fears of sexual abuse occurring because heterosexuality was considered normal whereas homosexuality was considered abnormal during this time. Yet, if there was sexual abuse occurring in a heterosexual relationship while one of the individuals was deemed incompetent, heads would have turned and looked the other way. Nurses and doctors would have become worried in Sharon and Karen’s case only because of

    Read More

  • The Older Americans Act in 2013

    1195 Words  | 3 Pages

    Included in the amendments of Bill S.1028 is the proposal for the inclusion of various groups of elderly individuals who had been excluded from the original Older Americans Act of 1965 with the social benefits awarded to this specific population. That is, elderly people with sexual orientations other than heterosexual, and people with certain illnesses – that qualify, will be afforded the benefits under the old law and the amended law…if passed. The amendments in bill S.1028 are suitable for the current cultural as there is a clear paradigm shift in: 1. the growth of the elderly population, 2. the acceptance of individuals with different life-styles and, 3. the subjective socioeconomic circumstances the elderly may face.

    Read More

  • Sexuality in the Elderly

    855 Words  | 2 Pages

    Over the last century, the life expectancy of the elderly has increased. This means that the largest growing population right now, in the United States, is persons over the age of 65 (Sex Tips for Older Adults, 2000). With this in mind, it would be helpful to talk about the personal aspects or as I like to call it, "sex lives" of the elderly. When people in our society think of the elderly, they almost never think of this population having sex or good sex for that matter. But they do! Unfortunately, the elderly encounter problems with sex as they become older and that is what I will be discussing along with way of coping with sexual dysfunction.

    Read More

  • Discussion To Nursing: An Introduction To Professional Nursing

    710 Words  | 2 Pages

    ...be pathway to autonomy by supporting a person’s entitlement to make decisions about their own health and health care (Feinsod & Wagner, 2008). It is a person’s right to know when they seek medical treatment it will be delivered with no bias or discrimination. This can be achieved by continuing AIDS education in health care facilities and to their staff. The education would also benefit society. The health care community has an ethical duty to do whatever is needed to ensure that all patients, including those with AIDS, gain from the most current treatments. Nurses have many roles in patient care. Expanding some of those roles, in order to determine the various aspects of a patient’s life, to help organize services to start/continue the most current treatment available to AIDS patients, may assist in minimizing the fear of discrimination in the clinical setting.

    Read More

  • Sexual Orientation Health Disparities

    1744 Words  | 4 Pages

    The Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender individuals acronymic by LGBT embrace all races and ethnicities, religions, and social classes around the world. We know that this community faces many health care disparities like the lack of access to needed services related to their sexual orientation or gender identity; however there is a gap in health data for the number of LGBT individual and their health needs. This is because sexual orientation and gender identity are not frequently asked on state or national surveys and majorly that many people don’t openly express their true sexual orientation. Health disparities refers to the inequities in access and quality to health care that are experienced by minority groups, including racial and ethnic minorities, lower income individuals and families, sexual minorities, and immigrant communities. LGBT individuals that are considered “in the closet,” lose the critical potential for empowerment and capability to participate in the services that may improve their access to appropriate health care. Approximately 20 States has agreements against same-sex activity and around the world we see a widespread discrimination directed at people who have revealed their identity. Now many LGBT individuals feel that “coming out” is dangerous, even coming out to health care providers, they feel that they would be personally judged and not receive good healthcare. LGBT people face daily discrimination, and this oppression contributes to the health disparities. LGBT community’s health requires specific attention from health care because LGBT individuals are at a higher risk than their heterosexual peers for many diseases and other conditions. These poor outcomes are a result of differences in access to hea...

    Read More

  • The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel

    1666 Words  | 4 Pages

    Kazer, M. W. (2012). Sexuality assesment for older adults. Try this: Best Practices in Nursing

    Read More

  • Critical Analysis Of An Anthropological Look At Human Sexuality

    1241 Words  | 3 Pages

    In the article “An Anthropological Look at Human Sexuality” the authors, Patrick Gray and Linda Wolfe speak about how societies look at human sexuality. The core concept of anthology is the idea of culture, the systems of attitudes, beliefs, and behaviors people acquire as a member of society. The authors give an in depth analysis on how human sexuality is looked at in all different situations.

    Read More

  • Integration of Reason and Emotion

    1483 Words  | 3 Pages

    In today’s heterosexual and patriarchal society sex and sexual desires revolve around men, and Hoagland sets out seven patterns showing how this is the case. Sex is thought of as a “powerful and uncontrollable urge” and male sexuality therefore is a basic component to male health, sexual acts show male conquest and domination, sexual freedom gives men total access to and over women, rape is, by this logic, natural and women who resist a man’s advances are “‘frigid’”, sex involves losing control and sexual desire, when described as erotic, “involves a death wish (eros)”. The bottom line is that in today’s heterosexual and patriarchal society sex is all about men having a natural power over women; sex involves a total loss of control which creates a split between reason and emotion since being in control is a matter of reason controlling emotions, “we tend to believe that to be safe we must be rational and in control but to...

    Read More

  • What Is Ebony Jackson's View Of Sexuality

    792 Words  | 2 Pages

    The purpose of this short interview is to ask an elder person, at least the age of 40 years old, about their view of sex during their time and their perspective of how the society has changed. This experiment will illustrate societal and sociological changes that have occurred. For this project, I interviewed Mrs. Ebony Jackson, a 41 years old Africa-American women. Mrs. Jackson was born in 1975 and grew up in Los Angeles, California. Her family that she grew up in consist of her two sisters, mother, grandmother, and grandfather. I asked Mrs. Jackson if her family ever talk to her about sex or sexuality and the respond I got was a 'no. ' She continued to explain to me how parents and their children are not supposed to mention anything

    Read More

  • The Importance Of Sexuality In Older Adults

    819 Words  | 2 Pages

    Many people have the assumption that when people get old, they do not enjoy intimacy anymore. Intimacy, if not sexuality, is a continuing human need for most people. There are misconceptions and negative attitudes about sexuality and aging, which pose barriers to sexual fulfillment for long-term care residents. Health care providers need to examine their own attitudes and refrain from labeling an older adult's sexual activity or interest as a problem.

    Read More

  • Gender Mortality Essay

    1635 Words  | 4 Pages

    Depending on the social contexts, there are some illnesses without diseases or the meaning of illnesses is independent from the biomedical entity. Illness is socially and culturally constructed and can reflect cultural biases or set limitations on particular groups. Historically, cultural assumptions of women’s nature have limited women’s ability to access resources and participate in the public sphere. Physicians have acted as agents of social control through defining women’s natural ability as secondary to men, and medicalizing of women’s problems, such as childbirth, menopause and premenstrual syndrome. These biased assumptions have become more complex and less visible, however they continue to limit and control women’s agency in society. Feminists have accused the medicalization of menopause as devaluing women, despite that fact that aging is a natural process. However, different cultures construct different understandings, definitions, experiences and medical practices of illness. Illness, such as anorexia can reflect the changing social expectations and roles of women in different cultures. The creation and treatment of illnesses are unequal. “Stigmatized illness”, including AIDS and epilepsy can create moral meanings that cause the perception of illness and individuals with illness stigmatized. Furthermore, factors such as whom and how many are affected

    Read More

  • How Sexuality is Socially Constructed

    2048 Words  | 5 Pages

    Preves, Ph.D., Sharon E. "Intersex Narratives: Gender, Medicine, and Identity." Gender, Sex, and Sexuality. New York: Oxford University, 2009. 32-42. Print.

    Read More

  • Sexual Attraction Essay

    1822 Words  | 4 Pages

    Sexual attraction is an everyday part of life that has different effects on each person. In the following paper I am going to discuss the different types of sexual attraction for adolescences ages 12-20, early adulthood ages 20-30, mature adulthood 30-65, and older adults age 65 and older. Sexual attraction: which sex are you attracted to, or are you attracted to both men and women? Then we have sexual behavior: what sex are your partners? And finally, we have sexual identity: how do you think of yourself are you gay, straight, or bisexual? Some of us develop feelings of attraction to a one type of sex before we self-label

    Read More

  • The Importance Of Sexuality In Contemporary Society

    1116 Words  | 3 Pages

    Gender also operates at an institutional level, which can be just as influential as the process of socialisation within the home. Inevitably, every individual will somehow be shaped by the institutions that they find themselves involved within, for example education and the workplace. Acker (1990 p146) provides a useful definition of the gendering of organisations. She explains how a gendered organisation or institution means that ‘advantage and disadvantage, exploitation and control, action and emotion, meaning and identity’ are all patterned in terms of distinguishing between male and female, as well as masculine and feminine. Interactionist approaches focus on the forces which operate external to the individuals. Interactionists argue people’s

    Read More

  • Importance Of Sexual Education Essay

    957 Words  | 2 Pages

    Sexual health could be a state of physical, mental and social well-being in relevancy sex, not simply the absence of diseases, disfunction or bad condition. It needs a positive and respectful approach to sex and sexual relationships, furthermore because the chance of getting gratifying and safe sexual experiences, freed from coercion, discrimination and violence. For the attainment of correct sexual health, sexual rights of all persons should be revered, protected and consummated.

    Read More

More about A Review of Sexuality and the Chronically Ill Older Adult: A Social Justice Issue

Open Document